Page 52 of Mila: The Godfather

My heart beats slowly. Steady.

Strong.

With an unexpected purpose.

At this moment, with her sleeping soundly inside my home, I know, like I know my name is Riagan O’Sullivan, that Mila Parisi is mine, and there is no way in hell she is leaving my side. Ever. If someone tries to take her from me, they will only be able to do it by walking over my cold, dead corpse.

Message from M

Dear C,

Will you ever tell me your name? - M

Rare Reaction

MILA

“He came out of the blue on a rainy night, bringing me back to life.” – M

A sound I’m not quite accustomed to wretches me away from a deep slumber. The deepest slumber I’ve had in a while. You see, my mind never shuts off, not even when my mouth does, so on the rare occasions that I do find sleep, I can go on for more than the usual eight hours. Memories, facts, numbers, and questions are ever-present. Let’s just say my brain never has a dull moment.

The calming sound of waves crashing and the breeze blowing in the distance remind me that I am no longer home. Never have I heard such a magnificent sound back home.

Cities are too crowded and noisy.

Ever moving, just like my brain.

Back home, I could never find a quiet place, which is why I would sleep heavily for hours, paint and do some gardening to quiet all the noise. It would only help for a little while. The quiet never lasted. Once I was awake, life was harder, not only for myself, but, most importantly, for my sisters.

I quickly found out that if I was out of the way, sleeping, or hiding in the shadows, then I wasn’t an inconvenience to our father, who in return, would leave my sisters alone. Even if it lasted only for a little while.

Getting out of my head, I focus on the now.

This brand new day.

It was too dark for it to be morning. I knew as much when I opened my eyes. The thin and soft-looking curtains swayed with the breeze drifting through the room, a bit warm yet serene. I read somewhere that Turks and Caicos is warm all year. The usual temperature ranges from twenty to forty degrees Celsius with high humidity during the day, dropping at night between twenty to twenty-seven Celsius.

I don’t mind the heat like most people do. I even welcome it because, for so long the cold is all we’ve known.

Shaking off sleep, my mind starts to steer away back to depressing memories, but I don’t allow myself to be distracted. Instead, I rub my eyes and open them again, feeling more relaxed than I’ve felt in years. The tension in my neck from the hectic events of yesterday has faded away, and I no longer have a throbbing pain in my head.

Pulling the sheets, I get out of bed, noticing that I’m still in the same clothes from yesterday. I make a face of disgust when I think about how I shared a bed with the germs I did not wash away before I found sleep. I shiver at the realization. Gross.

Touching my hair, I cringe when I pull on it to find it dry and tangled. It also doesn’t smell like coconut and vanilla, as per usual.

I hold my breath for five seconds before I expel the air. I do these two more times until I find myself forgetting all about the dirty germs currently making a home for themselves on my skin. I must’ve been so drained from all the fear and excitement from yesterday that I must’ve fallen asleep without showering.

I didn’t even get to properly admire this room.

When I do look around the room, I can’t help but be amazed. This is no ordinary room.

No.

Wow. Walking barefoot on the carpeted floor, I try not to think of how dirty carpets get when not vacuumed regularly. Instead, I move around the enormous room that looks straight out of a millionaire’s beach home.

Everything is white with different tones of blue. From the sheets to the four-post bed to the dresser and floor-length mirror. The curtains that cover the glass twin doors open onto a balcony that overlooks the back of the house, where you get the perfect view of the ocean.

I also notice the lovely fresh flowers all around the room and the built-in bookshelf wall in the corner behind a cream bean bag that looks not only comfortable but like it could hold three of me. It is that big.

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